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Saturday, 6 December 2014

In this article I am going
to discuss three very important topics, blood Money (Diyyah), Abortion and Blood
Money (Diyyah) in case of abortion. Before discussing anything I want to say
that I am not a religious scholar, the information I am writing is gathered
from various sources, before applying anything discuss with a religious
scholar. We have already published one article about the blood
money calculation in Saudi Arabia but this article focuses the blood money
only in case of abortion. Blood money is the financial compensation paid to the
heirs of a victim by the culprit. The family of the victims can demand blood
money instead of retribution. It is an active measure to get rid of capital
punishment as Islam is a religion of life.However if the family of the victim forgives the culprit then the
culprit is not obligated to pay the blood money. It is a valid compensation in
case of road accidents. The amount of blood money is set since the time of Holy
Prophet (PBUH). For the murder of a Muslim man it is 400,000 Saudi riyal,
150,000 Saudi riyal for Muslim woman and one-tenth of 150,000 for the murder of
slave boy or a girl. Many other rates are also set but they are irrelevant in
this article.

Blood
Money in case of Abortion

Abortion is generally
forbidden in Islam. Islam approaches the issue of birth control and abortion
with balance. A woman is allowed to prevent birth but is not allowed to
terminate it. However, it is permissible under certain conditions. Firstly,
under any condition a woman is forbidden to abort the fetus after the period of
4 months, because by the start of forth month a soul is endowed to a fetus. If
a woman aborts the fetus after four months then she is subject to pay Diyyah.
Islam permits abortion if the doctor ensures that continuation of the pregnancy
will cause fetal harm to the mother. A woman can have an abortion without her
husband’s knowledge but she should have valid reason for it.

On surfing the net I found
two different opinions on the websites for Islamic guidance. First opinion
states that in case of abortion after 4 month period, an amount known as ghurrah must be paid. Before
four month abortion, this amount is not obligatory. If a woman’s fetus is
criminally aborted and the fetus was alive and died on delivery because of the
criminal action, then the blood money (diyya) is to be paid of an adult man or
woman. The second opinion states that blood money (diyaah) must be paid on
abortion irrespective of the four month mark.

Blood money in case of an
abortion is that of a slave boy or a girl, one-tenth of the mother or
one-twentieth of a man, that is, approximately 212.5 grams of gold and
traditionally, 5 camels. The blood money is to be paid to the heirs who did not
take part in the abortion. If the father is unknowledgeable of the procedure
then he is to be paid. The parents or the mother are entitled to pay the blood
money. One school of thought states that, the doctor who performed the abortion
is supposed to pay the money, since he is the killer. I think that doctor in
this case acts on the orders of the parent/s therefore; he should be left out
of this payment. I would like to tell you people again that I am not a
religious scholar, so you people should consult a religious scholar before
making this payment.